Sunday, August 14, 2016

The Oriental Group Celebrates 16 Years of Chinese Culinary Excellence

Indulge in Some of the Finest
Cantonese Dishes by Executive Chef Justin Hor

The
first Oriental Restaurant started
back in 2000 in Jaya Shopping Centre in Section 14, Petaling Jaya. It’s been 16
wonderful and delicious years since then. Today, the Oriental Group operates 9
restaurants set with different themes all over our metropolitan city. There is
one thing in common for all 9 restaurants and that is a luscious trait of scrumptious
dishes led by Group Executive Chef Justin Hor.

Synonymous
with fine Cantonese cuisine, the Group restaurants has set the bar high in
premium and exquisite Chinese dishes from Chef Justin Hor and culinary team’s creative
and superb repertoire of dishes. Gourmands look forward to the annual Grand
Dinners series where the restaurants features dishes from legendary “Old Master” chefs as well as renowned
international chefs from famous Cantonese culinary regions – Hong Kong and the
Shun De District in Guangdong. These master chefs with stellar reputations have
etch their marks in the wall of deliciousness with menus emphasizing old school
but grand dishes from yesteryears of 1960s, 30 years of culinary dishes of Hong
Kong cuisine and other classic themes.

Executive
Chef and Co-Founder of the Group, Chef Justin
Hor talks passionately about this year’s theme in honor of the 16th
Anniversary celebrations. A man of great talent, the humble Chef Hor speaks of
his mentor, retired Chef Fok You Wing from Hong Kong, quoting his inspiration
from the great sifu of all time in the culinary world. This year is extra
special as he takes his diners on a journey back in time where he first started
out and the dishes that he has dearly served over the years at the Group of
restaurants.

To
Chef Hor, it’s all about the memories of flavor blast from the past. Recipes
transcend through time, nostalgic and sentimental dishes and food cooked with
lots of effort and love are simply some of the best dishes that has withstand
through time and will always be greatly appreciated. Ingredients are equally
important as Chef Hor personally sources some of the best ingredients possible
internationally in order to reproduce these classic and long forgotten dishes
from the past.

For
these two months of August and September, diners are taken on an unforgettable culinary
journey of Chinese gastronomical flavors through the Group 16th Anniversary Set Menu. The special set menu cater towards
10 pax per table features some of the best premium ingredients possible. Priced
at RM2,888 per set menu of 10 pax or go ala carte, diners will be pleased with
the lux dishes especially prepared by Chef Hor and his culinary team in all the
participating restaurants.

Starting
off the list from the Set Menu, savor the Five
Memorable Appetizers served on individual plates. Showcasing classic dishes
jazzed up with touches of modern twist, the Five Memorable Appetizers includes Black Squid Ink Ball with Sesame Seed, Crispy
Clam Roll Marinated with Five Spices. Pork Ear Served with Baby Black Fungus, Baby
Pomfret with Cili Padi & Crispy Minced Garlic and Sea Grass with Shredded Yam Tossed in Chef’s Special Sauce.

Little
adorable sesame studded balls of Black Squid
Ink Ball with Sesame Seed was a delicious start off. Beautifully bouncy
with a savory sweetness of squid and light crunch of sesame seeds, the squid
ink balls are a joy to eat. Cleverly paired with cherry tomato and cucumber for
freshness and crunch, one can certainly enjoy quite a few of these balls.

Inspired
by the classic meat roll, a clever twist of adding clam meat to the meat roll
in Crispy Clam Roll Marinated with Five
Spices brought the dish up to current times. Moreish with a juicy filling,
the clam roll has everyone enjoying the delicate sweetness of the clam and pork
filling with bits of vegetables among other ingredients.

Pork Ear Served with Baby Black Fungus is another old school dish that is
about to lose its mark in our culinary cuisine today. Lightly crunchy and
tender pork ear slices is sautéed with crunchy baby black fungus and cucumbers.
Aromatic and delicate, we hope that the dish is preserved over the years on
future menus simply because it is too good to be forgotten.

The
Baby Pomfret with Cili Padi & Crispy
Minced Garlic is a crowd pleaser that evening. Crispy baby pomfrets that
one can enjoy from head to tail is aromatized with lots of garlicky flavors and
punchy cili heat. The thrill is enjoying the whole baby pomfret with crispy
satiation.

Last
of the appetizer is also a take on a very old dish of jellyfish salad. Chef Hor
uses the recent modern ingredient of sea grass jelly to concoct his Sea Grass with Shredded Yam Tossed in Chef’s
Special Sauce. The sea grass has such a light flavor but a very crunchy
texture. Savory and sweet, every bite is wonderfully crispy and enjoyable.

The
pièce de résistance of the set menu has to be the luxurious and sumptuous Imperial Rejuvenation Soup. A recipe
taught by Chef Hor’s master chef Fok, the soup epitomize the sensational soups
that the Cantonese are famed for.

Reading
off the list of premium ingredients such as 4-head Abalone, Superior Shark’s Fin, Fresh Fish Maw, Sea Cucumber,
Japanese Dried Scallop, Conch, Yunnan Ham, Japanese Mushroom, Pork Tendon, Chicken,
Ginseng, Superior Tong Sum, Huai San and Wolfberries, the soup is double-boiled for at least six hours in
special bone china bowls, specifically made in Chiu Chow just for this special
occasion and soup.

The
recipe is indeed an art by its list of ingredients and cooking methods. The rich
and deep golden broth alone has every one of us savoring it to the very last drop
in silence. Full bodied with richness of seafood essence, the broth evokes a
sense of tranquility and comfort in our inner soul as I carefully and slowly
sip it to pay full homage to the effort put into this dish. Gorgeous tender
abalone, soft and gelatinous fish maw, wobbly and jelly-like sea cucumber,
umami strands of dried scallops, soft pork tendon and more is cooked to
perfection. The broth is also nicely spiked with hints of ginseng essence as
well as other herbs. The soup portion is very generous and we were nearly
filled up with just this soup alone.

A
soup that will certainly leave a lasting and unforgettable taste on your palate
in many years to come…

Going
the extra mile, Chef Hor has sourced what he deemed to be the perfect size of
250gm of baby pigeon from Chung San
for his Roast Baby Pigeon. He meticulously
bathed the bird in his master stock before lacquering the pigeon to a luscious crisp
amber hue. We all raved on how wonderfully aromatic this pigeon was when the
plate was placed in front of us. Utterly crisp skin, tender and juicy meat with
sublime savory flavors, the dish is simply a must-order!

I
vaguely remember the dish of Traditional
Stuffed Whole Chinese Cabbage served with Stuffed Broccoli & Dried Scallop
Sauce as I have tasted it a while back. What is unique about Chef Hor’s
version is that he has filled it with fresh sweet crab meat, moreish dried
scallops and water chestnuts. It takes a lot of skill to prepare this 60s dish
as the cabbage must not be too tight when tied up and Chef Hor uses water reed
to prevent the stuffed ingredients from overflowing. Steamed for more than 2
hours, the whole cabbage is literally melt-in-the-mouth goodness with its
velvety dried scallop sauce. Chef Hor added his touch of modern element of
stuffed broccoli, giving the dish more textures and flavors.

Despite
being so full, I can’t help but to salivate at the sight of glorious bright
orange hues on the Steamed Water Prawn on
Glutinous Rice. It’s a sight enough to tempt anyone for sure, even if you
are already full. These giant crustaceans are topped with generous amount of
ginger paste before it is steamed on a bed of savory glutinous rice.

While
one may think that the ginger is overpowering, rest assured that the ginger
gave the dish such a robust hit of punchy gingery notes. I can still taste how
beautifully sweet the prawns are with its silky and luscious prawn roes. The
whole dish goes so well together that I literally wanted just a little more. A
masterpiece that should go on the regular menu if you asked me…

I
am in awe of how much effort Chef Hor also puts into his desserts. His Sweetened Red Bean Paste Double Boiled with
Old Guangzhou Orange Peel uses specially imported 3 year old Chan Peior orange peel. The fact that I was never a red bean soup fan had
me polishing off this bowl happily as there is such an aromatic note in the
creamy and nutty dessert that also had just the right balance of sweetness. I
am now a converted fan of the red bean paste, especially if you served me Chef
Hor’s version.

Pretty
Peony White Lotus & Crystal Pumpkin
Dumpling are the final sweetness of the set menu. Flaky and buttery layers
of pastry enveloping creamy and nutty lotus paste is just as good as the
lightly chewy crystal pumpkin dumpling with sweet pumpkin paste.

Kudos
to Chef Justin Hor for his wondrous set menu in honor of Oriental Group’s 16th Anniversary! It’s an amazing and unforgettable
menu not to be miss so gather up your foodies and indulge in this gorgeous menu
before it ends.

This
16 Anniversary special set menu is available for a limited period from 5 August
to 30 September 2016 at all participating outlets under the Oriental Group of
Restaurants. The set menu is priced at RM2,888 nett per table of 10 pax. Diners
can also enjoy these dishes on an ala carte basis from 1 to 30 September 2016.
In conjunction with their 16 Anniversary celebrations, all participating
restaurants will be giving customers a complimentary dish from the set menu
(suitable for 10 pax) with every set menu purchase.

*Reservations during this period are
encouraged to avoid disappointment as some of the dishes require time to
prepare.

Contact the respective
restaurants for further enquires and reservations: